Singapore Airlines: Heathrow to be A-380's Second Route
Confirmation has been provided by Singapore Airlines that London Heathrow Airport will feature in the second route to be operated by the Airbus A-380. Its first flight using the A-380 takes place on the 25th October, when it will journey between Singapore and Sydney. While this is a charity flight - many tickets for which were auctioned on Ebay - the regular service begins three days later.
In Singapore Airlines' service, the A-380 will transport 471 passengers. Four examples will initially be delivered, of which the first was ceremoniously handed over last week. Numbers two and three will follow in early 2008, while the fourth will join the airline a few months later.
Singapore's route to London Heathrow will only begin once the second and third aircraft are in service, as the journey length precludes daily operations to be carried out by a single aircraft.
A spokeswoman from the airline confirmed that, of the three departure slots allocated to Singapore from London Heathrow, the Airbus A-380's was expected to be the morning one.
Airports the world over have been modifying existing facilities in order to accommodate this giant of the skies. At Heathrow, Terminal 3's A-380-friendly Pier 6 should be finished by the end of 2007.
The A-380's entry into airline service has been a protracted one, and should have occurred in early 2006. The type first flew in April 2005, and to date, orders for it stand with 17 airlines. Recently, the UK's flagship carrier British Airways committed to buying 12 examples, as well as a number of 787 Dreamliners produced by the US Boeing firm.
Recent industry comment has linked the Airbus A-380 to the US government, in which capacity it has been suggested as the new transport for President George W. Bush. If this occurred, the A-380 would replace the current fleet of now-elderly Boeing 747s charged with this role.
Source - Airport International's Aviation Expert
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